Tone Poetry

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and   

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

What is the tone of this section?

• positive

• negative

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams   

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream   

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied   

so he opens his throat to sing.
What is the tone of this section?

• playful

• relaxed

• happy

• tragic

The caged bird sings   

with a fearful trill   

of things unknown   

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard   

on the distant hill   

for the caged bird   

sings of freedom.

What tone is created in this section?

• hopeful

• hilarious

• romantic

• appreciative

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own.

What is the tone of this section?

• depressing

• silly

• optimistic

• mocking

The tone of the poem is the author's

• mood

• theme

• attitude

• clue

What is tone?

• The poet's attitude toward his or her subject.

• The feeling a reader gets when reading the poem.

• the pitch of the rhythm

• the sounds of a poem

the speaker's attitude toward the subject of the poem

• mood

• emotion

• tone

• angry

The author's attitude or feelings towards the writing and the readers is the (a)   .

• tone

• mood

• topic

• theme

Answer explanation

Think of the writer's tone like a speaker's tone of voice. When you listen to someone speak, you analyze their tone and inflection to guess their attitude or emotions. In writing, we analyze the writer's word choice to guess their attitude, or tone.

the attitude of a piece of writing

• theme

• irony

• parable

• tone

my mom holds her accent like a shotgun,

with two good hands.

her tongue, all brass knuckle

slipping in between her lips

her hips, all laughter and wind clap.

What tone does this section create?

• confident

• confused

• violent

• stressful